Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday criticised US President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a 20 per cent charge on commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, mocking Washington as a “pirate” state.His remarks came after Trump announced that the US would reinstate what he called the “Iranian blockade” and begin charging vessels for securing one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.Speaking at a public event in Sao Paulo state, Lula mocked Trump’s proposal to collect payments from commercial vessels using the strategic waterway, according to AFP.“President Trump tweeted that he will unblock the Strait of Hormuz. But for every ship… the oil owner must pay him 20 per cent. This used to be considered piracy,” Lula said. “A major nation like the United States… cannot now become a pirate,” he added.
Trump announces Hormuz charges
This comes after Trump said that United States would become the “GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and begin charging a proposed 20 per cent reimbursement on cargo transported through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would amount to nearly $30 million for a fully loaded oil supertanker, Bloomberg reported. The announcement followed renewed US military operations against Iran.“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.The policy marks a significant shift from the position previously articulated by the US administration. On June 23, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had argued that international law does not permit any country to levy tolls on ships using the Strait of Hormuz.“No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” Rubio had said. “That’s existing international law.”Following Trump’s latest announcement, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization also said there is ‘no legal basis’ for imposing mandatory transit fees on ships using international straits.‘Iran has always been the guardian of the Strait and will remain so forever’Earlier, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also mocked Trump’s proposal, saying Iran—not the United States—has always safeguarded the strategic waterway.In a post on X, Araghchi wrote: “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”Brazil’s 80-year-old leftist is seeking a fourth term in the October presidential election. His government has rolled out temporary measures to soften the impact of rising fuel prices after the Iran conflict triggered a sharp increase in global oil prices.Lula also linked the latest Gulf tensions to rising prices in Brazil, saying higher oil costs were pushing up the prices of fuel and essential food items such as beans, rice, tomatoes and onions.According to AFP, he said, “A major nation like the United States, which I believe has fought against piracy for a long time, cannot now become a pirate,” warning that the conflict was driving up the prices of basic foodstuffs in Brazil including beans, rice, tomatoes and onions, as well as fuel.
